Early Documents for the Families of Sylvanus, Daniel and Gabriel Cornell

This page shares the one-of-a-kind records from the family of Gabriel Cornell which also
mention the families of Sylvanus and Daniel Cornell. All were in the possession of a
great-granddaughter of Gabriel, Grace Thompson, when she died in 1968. We can thank
our late Cousin Ruth McKim for preserving and making them available.

The "Three Brothers" Note

The writer of the note remains unknown; however, the similarity of the above to the
handwriting of the family charts below suggests it is contemporary with them. Probably
the writer was a member of one of the Thompson families and of the same generation
as Grace (1883-1968). We can quibble about certain details:

The Welsh origin seems to have been a story that was going around and is quite
debatable. Family names suggest English is more likely.

The "three brothers" theme is seen so often it is practically a cliché. But, Sylvanus
and Daniel were brothers. Gabriel remains the uncertain one, although on arrival,
he obtained land next to Daniel exactly like Sylvanus.

"This country" is flowery and vague. The writer most likely was in and inferring
Canada which is where Sylvanus, Daniel and Gabriel arrived from New York
in the short period between about 1794 and 1801.

"One of these men..." is also vague and tells us nothing. But, Gabriel did have
ten sons and one daughter, and they are listed here in what appears to be their correct
birth order except for daughter Sarah.

Marr remains unknown and was not their mother. (Might possibly be confused
with son Jesse's mother-in-law who was a Marr.)

It is established that Gabriel married Abigail Knapp, and this is one of
only two appearances of that surname in any early Canadian record.

Knowing all three of these men's names was quite a feat.

Conclusion: Although clear writing was not one of them, the writer
definitely did know certain things.

The Gabriel Family Chart - Page 1

The writer of these two pages was identified by handwriting comparison as Lucy
Anzonetta "Netta" Thompson whose photograph is below. She also wrote a similar
chart using the same kind of paper and black ink describing so many generations of
her Fleming ancestors that the source had to be a genealogy. It was found, and the
author acknowledged correspondence with "Nettie and Emma Thompson" of Canada.
The book was published in 1903 and surely gives us a time frame for the Gabriel Charts.
These two charts are not 100% accurate; however, consider the fact that two sons are
included who emigrated to Illinois more than 20 years before Netta was born and she
named them and some of their children correctly.

Some brief comments -- Page 1: The name below Moses (bottom left) is Owen.
Jesse is the correct spelling, but his name was pronounced as "Jess." "Mrs. Moore"
and "Mrs. Willard" (upper left) were his daughters Elizabeth and Eleanor.
Page 2: Smith "came to Canada when 2 years old." Brothers Daniel and William
seem to be combined; those are Daniel's children. Thomas (Page 1) and Gabriel
(Cornwell) are the two brothers who emigrated to Illinois around 1845. The families
closest physically to Netta were those of Smith (her grandparents), Moses and
Jesse, and it's no surprise their descriptions are the most accurate.

The List of Waits, Cousins and Brothers

Netta Thompson also wrote the above note. On the left side are listed the
children of Jonathan Wait who was Netta's greatgrandfather.
His daughter Lucy (1805-1887) married Smith Cornell (1799-1861). Not all
the children were included, but enough are to confirm which family this is. At least
Lucy (Ann) and Smith (J.) were still living when Netta was a young woman,
and she surely knew them well. "Grandmother Mrs. S. Cornell" which follows Lucy
was courtesy of an unknown writer and in pencil. Grace Thompson added "Smith"
atop the "S."

The top right side contributes an even earlier generation, two sisters of Jonathan
Wait, Mrs. Beam (Elizabeth) and Mrs. Gonder (Sarah Ann). The
Waits lived at both Black Creek and Chippawa on the west side of the
Niagara River after they arrived in Canada in 1817.

Beneath them are listed several men described as "brothers and cousins to
Grandfather." These names have been studied at length, and only "Colonel Cornell"
has not been identified. While some of the names can be found in several generations,
only one had them all, that of Smith Cornell (son of Gabriel) who was
Netta's grandfather. Interestingly, all three families had to be considered to find them.
John A., Aaron (Capt. and perhaps exaggerated as "Colonel) and Enoch were the
sons of Sylvanus. Benoni was Daniel's son. Samuel and William
could be the sons of either Sylvanus or Gabriel, although proximity suggests the latter
as more likely.

Lucy Anzonetta "Netta" Thompson

Netta was born in 1868 and died unmarried in 1952. She was the daughter of William Fleming Thompson and Mary Elizabeth Cornell and a nurse. She, her sister and their parents are buried together in St. George Cemetery near her grandparents, Smith and Lucy Cornell.

Netta, from all evidence, was the most knowledgeable member of her generation about the early family. Only she wrote anything about the three different families, those of Sylvanus, Daniel and Gabriel. And, until we had her two charts above, piecing together the family of Gabriel and learning of his New York origin were virtually impossible. We owe this dear lady a great debt of gratitude!

Sylvanus Cornell Military Record

The above record is for one of several enlistments of Sylvanus Cornell in the Dutchess Co. Militia. It identifies him as age 24 (in 1776), born in Westchester (Co.) and with an occupation of "cooper" (barrel maker).

If you have any questions or comments about any of the family records shown here, please do write me. . . . . . Tom Cornell